The Outcomes-Based Quality Assurance

To us in AACCUP, the current strongest factor to harmonize QA practices, and the best means to promote a level playing field, is the CHED-initiated Outcomes-Based Quality Assurance System (CMO 46).

Upon the invitation of CHED, and as accepted by the AACCUP Board of Trustees, a one-year CHED-AACCUP contract was crafted in 2014, with CHED providing funding assistance amounting to P2 Million for AACCUP to revise its instruments of program and institutional accreditation “in line with outcomes-based quality assurance…” (AACCUP completed the one-year contract on time on September 30, 2015.

Tapping the services of AACCUP Officials and Senior Accreditors, Academic Program Specialists, the AACCUP Pool of Institutional Accreditors and International Experts, the following sequence of steps was pursued:

Preparation of the Master Survey Instrument by top AACCUP officials and a pool of Senior Accreditors

Preparation of the 42 Outcomes-Based Program Accreditation Instruments by 42 Curricular Program Specialists

Review of the draft Outcomes-Based Program Accreditation Instruments by a small group of Senior Accreditors

Review, in a national workshop, of the draft Instruments

Finalization of the Instruments, and Preparation of the Guidelines in preparing the Program Performance Profile (PPP) and Institutional Portfolio (IP)

Validation of the Instruments

Copyrighting of all the Instruments

Output of the Contract:

One (1) Instrument on Institutional Accreditation

Forty-two (42) Instruments on forty-two (42) Program Accreditation

One (1) Guidelines in preparing the Outcomes-Based Program Performance Profile

One (1) Guidelines in preparing the Institutional Portfolio

The AACCUP Outcomes-Based Framework is aligned to the CHED policy of defining Quality as “exceptional” i.e., exceeding very high standards as against Quality as “fitness of purpose” and/or “developing a culture of quality”.

The accreditation instruments are also aligned to the definition of outcomes-based Quality Assurance as measurement of , but still consider inputs and processes as important. Thus, AACCUP measurement of quality of programs and institutions include:

System (inputs and processes)

Implementation

Outcomes

AACCUP evaluation also gives premium to “best practices”

There are 10 Areas (Standards/Key Result Areas) in all Program Accreditation Instruments:

There are nine (9) Areas (Standard/Key Result Areas) in Institutional Accreditation

Area I

-

Governance and Management

Area II

-

Teaching, Learning and Evaluation

Area III

-

Faculty and Staff

Area IV

-

Research

Area V

-

Extension, Consultancy and Linkages

Area VI

-

Support to Students

Area VII

-

Library

Area VIII

-

Infrastructure and Other Learning Resources

Area IX

-

Quality Assurance Culture

Rating Scale

RATING SCALE

NA

0

1

2

3

4

5

-

Poor

Fair

Satisfactory

Very Satisfactory

Excellent

Not Applicable

Missing

Criterion is met minimally in some respects, but much improvement is needed to overcome weaknesses.

(75% lesser than the standards)

Criterion is met in most respects, but some improvement is needed to overcome weaknesses.

(50% lesser than the standards)

Criterion is met in all respects.

(100% compliance with the standards)

Criterion is fully met in all respects, at a level that demonstrates good practice.

(50% greater than the standards)

Criterion is fully met with substantial number of good practices, at a level that provides a model for others.

(75% greater than the standards)

Our Best Practices in the Implementation of Outcomes-Based Quality Assurance

The Framework and Instruments are thoroughly prepared by our experienced Senior Accreditors with appropriate qualifications: these are accepted by SUCs and Accreditors as validated; and copyrighted.

Before using the instruments, Senior Accreditors and New Accreditors have been given training separately in different AACCUP Training Centers: National, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao

Training Activities in Outcomes-Based Quality Assurance

Year

Name of Training

Number of Participants

2014

Training on OBQA for Senior Accreditors

Training on OBQA for New Accreditors

349

922

2015

Training on OBQA for Senior Accreditors

Training on OBQA for New Accreditors

243

717

2016

Training on OBQA for Accreditors

Training on OBQA Team Leadership

Training-Workshop for Internal Quality Assurance Units

442

400

265

The professionalization of the AACCUP Accreditors primarily through its Training Programs has earned for the AACCUP the award of

2016 APQN Quality Award for the Professionalization of Quality Assurance

The OBQA was adopted for implementation in 2015 but not fully as many SUCs which were scheduled in 2015 for their next accreditation cycle preferred still using the old framework. In 2016, OBQA was adopted in all programs and all levels of accreditation. This year, AACCUP assessed a total of 1,419 programs broken down by levels as follows:

Candidate

-

307

(22%)

Level I

-

413

(30%)

Level II

-

496

(34%)

Level III

-

192

(13%)

Level IV

-

11

(.78%)

The production in terms of number of programs and institutions accredited has been consistently large. This gained for AACCUP the

The Applications for Accreditation for Survey Visits have consistently been larger than AACCUP’s capacity to accommodate, especially in the last five (5) years. Thus, AACCUP has developed the strategy of calling for applications which were made the bases for scheduling of programs on a first-come, first-served basis. This is the Final Annual Schedule of Accreditation Visits. Applications which could not be accommodated are placed in the “Waiting List”.

AACCUP has adopted a policy of gradually delegating to SUCs the accreditation of their programs. In 2016, it started implementing the long-range policy by delegating to qualified SUCs the conduct of the Preliminary Survey of their respective programs. So far, only two (2) SUCs, the Visayas State University and the West Visayas State University have qualified and used this privilege. In 2017, this internalization of QA will be pursued with greater vigor as SUCs develop their internal quality assurance systems.